Rockinawsome's Hideout - Yes, I realize awesome has an E

Hacking a WALKMAN NWZ-S545?

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:52:32 +0000

I'm just curious if there's anyway to crack this thing and enhance its rather lame firmware. The firmware is incompatible with almost any video format, including formats it claims to support. Also, it'd be nice to swap out the default skins for something custom.

Oh, and it's such a piece of junk that if I break it, I don't really care.

Mass Effect 2

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:47:13 +0000

Just beat Mass Effect 2 as paragon, and while I had a great experience with the story, I am a little sad that some of the depth of gameplay featured by the original has been stripped. Absent are much of the rpg elements, and the squad control mechanism feels lacking. Telling my players what to do felt like trying to tell children what to do after recess, lots of acknowledgments, but little in the way of following my instructions.

Still, can't wait to see what impact my decisions will have on the Mass Effect universe via the third installment.

Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for Marines

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:28:48 +0000

I saw two of these on the back of a tractor trailer over my Thanksgiving vacation not far from Lejuene. I got a nice good look at them up close, apparently they're to serve a bit of a hybrid role between the Hummer and the Stryker. It's faster than a Stryker, but better armored and more comfortable than a Hummer. It also has a better climb rate for the hills of Afghanistan.

It's about time the Marines get something that's not second-hand junk. I get tired of hearing stories of the Marines's smashed up Hummers with no headlights and barely anything working on them. A vast number of the Marines's vehicles are red-lined anyway, meaning they should be decommissioned. This is finally a move in the right direction. The Marines have long said that training is worth more than technology, and to an extent that's true, but only to a very real extent. And what remains even more true is that a force well-trained and well-equipped will be well-prepared for meeting the enemy. Well, that's all for now.

Addendum:

Anyone who could provide a link for information on this vehicle would be doing me a service. Thanks!

I BEAT DRAGON AGE

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:26 +0000

No movie, book, or even game has brought me this close to bliss (and I played Mass Effect). Bioware deserves a big hug.

Stay the fuck out of Buffalo

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:22:44 +0000

So I was in Buffalo last night, watching a play at the celtic theatre--which is actually pretty nice--when I got back to my car however, I found that my passenger side window was smashed into tiny bits. This is on a nice side of town. My gps, mp3 palyer, and wife's track phone were all stolen. That's the 2nd time I've been to Buffalo and been robbed.

I yelled Fuck You, Buffalo at the top of my lungs, having had a bit to drink, and waited to see if I had garnered anyone's attention. To my surprise, no one wished to defend Buffalo's honor. It seems Buffalo is one miserable shit hole.

My wife's sister happens to live in the city, and had a murder/shooting on her street over the summer.
I fucking hate Buffalo. Give me Pittsburgh, Erie, or some cities from the south like Charleston, Lexington, or Memphis. But fuck Buffalo.

Anyways, aside from this rant, I'm just curious why I can't seem to find a gps online with a transmitter for locating the unit after it's stolen, since according to Buffalo police, who were actually very nice and helpful, "this sort of thing happens all the time".

Modern “Neurasthenia:” Curing Your Restlessness

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:42:44 +0000

This was undoubtedly one of the best things I could have ever read. I've struggled with this sort of thing my entire life, but didn't realize what it was. To have it all coalesce for me in this article, and for this writer to provide me a way out, makes me feel greatly supplemented for the rest of my life with an understanding that will allow me to cut away all the clutter and confusion in life. And since I still have the majority of that life ahead of me being a mere 23 yeas of age, I'm thrilled to find advice worthy of great scholars and tutors for only the cost of what I pay for my internet. I really can't say enough great things about this article and writer.

http://artofmanliness.com/2009/07/20/ modern-neurasthenia-curing-your-restlessness/

*Edit
I should mention that this article--http://artofmanliness.com/2009/09/20/paradox-of-choice/
-- is a great supplement. It deals with the economic idea of "opportunity cost" and applies it to Neurasthenia.

Government is killing Silicon Valley innovation

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:32:23 +0000

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Foremski/?p=673&tag=nl.e539

Though this article seems undeveloped, it makes me raise an eyebrow. I'm not sure I agree with everything 100 precent, but over regulation is the hallmark of leftist government.

How to disable Windows Sync

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:57:39 +0000

Since the search results for how to do this were crap -- I came up with a simple way of doing this. I don't like messing with msconfig if I don't have to. msconfig is there for debugging windows, not for managing startup features, and this is what most of the search results I found were suggesting. But this is a topic for another time.

To keep things short, here's the steps I used:

*NOTE, this does not work with UAC turned off. Your guess is as good as mine as to why this is.
(Insert vista sucks comment here).

1.) Go to C:\Windows\System32

2.) Create a folder as a sub-directory (the folder can be anywhere, but a sub directory is the easiest to make and keep track of (I called mine 'mobsynccrap').

3.) Find mobsync.exe in the current directory.

4.) Right-click it. Select properties, find the security tab, click the advanced button. Find the Owner tab on this new window.

5.) Change the owner by clicking edit. Now another window will pop up. Under "Change owner to:", highlight the current user and click okay. A prompt may appear saying it will have to do this or that, if it does just say okay.

5.2) (An addendum here, I forgot to mention this step!)
Go to the permissions tab. Highlight the user again and click edit. Now highlight the user on this page and click edit, now click the checkbox next to full control and click okay.

Finally, click okay on the remaining window, this will warn that you are about to change permissions. Click okay...again.
6.) Cut and paste mobsync.exe into new directory.

7.) You're done! No more idiotic automatic transfers of files you never wanted on your portable devices.

VOTE FOR MY DAD! VOTE TURNER!

Wed, 13 May 2009 01:29:59 +0000

So, I went around setting up signs for my dad today. He's running for county controller in McKean county. On the off chance someone googles this race and happens to come across this post, I'm writing to inform the McKean County voter (Pennsylvania) (and everywhere else I can, for that matter).

Basically, we have an election where the incumbant is responsible for the detrimental state of the economy in McKean county. Why? Well, as Tom Ball told my dad before he decided to run against him (to paraphrase), there's no sense in fighting the system because the county court house is a mess. Ahh, yes -- he was attempting to rationalize the fact that he had let tremendous tax hikes pass through the county without so much of a quiver of his lip (and he call's himself Republican). In 10 years, he allowed property tax to rise 260 percent. This from a county that no one wishes to reside in, in the first place. McKean county sees very few of its young people stick around because its more beneficial financially to live elsewhere.

To bring up even more dirt, Tom Ball lacks the credientials that my father posesses: he wasn't even elected to the position which he has resided over virtually unchallenged for the last 14 years!

He found it convenient to hire on a full-time accountant to do his job for him, rather than live up to the fact that he doesn't have a Masters in Business, or a tremendous financial background like residing over controller of a multi-million dollar construction company.

The sad fact of the matter is that Tom Ball is merely part of the "good 'ol boy network". He hasn't done much more than collect a paycheck. He shows no sign of ambition or a need for change.

That's why I say (not speaking for my father), to heck with Tom Ball and his old do-nothing cronies. Elect Randall Turner for county controller! If we don't change, we will continue to watch our county deteriorate, and we will watch as the great days of yesteryear slip forever beyond that faint, glorious horizon.

Bradford, a major city in McKean county, once boasted more millionaires per capita than any town in the NATION. Surely, we can return to age of prosperity, if we will only be so bold as to take chances on new companies, open the doors to free enterprise, and set loose the common small business man to work the land as God intended, free of the tyranny of outrageous tax hikes and petty politicians.

Jellyfish fight terrorists

Mon, 04 May 2009 18:09:36 +0000

Finally, the dicks of the sea do something useful:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/ 0905-jellyfish_fight_terrorists.htm